Corneal diseases and injuries account for the second leading non-refractive—cause of blindness affecting over 10 million people worldwide. A number of pathological conditions can lead to corneal scarring, including: injuries (e.g. chemical burns/industrial accidents); infection (e.g. contact lens-related infection or optical herpes); and laser vision correction (PRK). Ninety percent of blindness is permanent due to scarring and vascularization. Scarring caused via fibrotic cellular responses, heals the tissue, but fails to restore transparency.
There is a need for prevention or treatment of the significant effects of corneal haze and scarring resulting from disease or injury to prevent visual degradation, including blindness.